The Time Manipulator Projector
by Quibblette
Summary: Fred and George are sick and tired of Hermione and Ron's constant bickering and decide to teach their li'l brother something about regret.
1. Of Gadgets and Gizmos

Of Gadgets and Gizmos  
  
It was a typical school day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Students were buzzing around chatting and gossiping like a swarm of bees. Fred and George Weasley were definitely no exception, their distinct red hair towering above the younger students as they rushed to get to the hall to make it in time for lunch.  
  
"You know it's getting quite annoying," George stated. "Ron and Hermione always fighting like that." "Couldn't agree with you more. The only problem is that Sevvie would wash his hair before Ickle Ronniekins would admit he likes Gryffindor's resident bookworm.," Fred proclaimed. "But we all it to all the students out there. They'd have busted enough ear drums to keep the hearing aid manufacturers rich for the rest of their lives!" "Well, how 'bout we teach out little brother something along the lines of regret?" Fred suggested. "Yep, and I think I've got the perfect tool to use. Who would've thought that our Time Manipulator Projector would actually come of use?" George replied, a mischievous grin slowly forming on his face. "O Temperamental Brother of Ours, you just better watch out!" And with that, the two broke into a sprint, nonchalantly pushing the smaller folk aside, shouting apologies along the way.  
  
~*~TIME MANIPULATOR PROJECTOR~*~  
  
Most people would walk around their commonroom in nothing but their worst underclothes than go into an empty room with a Weasley twin. But as Ron was half asleep and slightly p-ed off at the infamous Severus Snape for calling Hermione a snobbish know-it-all, he was an exception to this rule. Unfortunately.  
  
"Tell me why I'm here again," Ron said groggily as he sat himself on an empty cauldron.  
  
They were in one of the many dungeons of Hogwarts. Like most dungeons, it was damp, dark and way too cold for it's occupant's own good.  
  
"Because, dear brother. We decided to use you as a human guinea pig," George said.  
  
"You what?!" Ron yelled back, quickly getting up only to be pulled back down by Fred.  
  
After another good few minutes of arguing like a bunch of harpies, Ron finally gave in. The twins quickly strapped the little helmet onto their brother's rather red head before connecting it up to a small screen they placed at the front of the room.  
  
"Is it me, or does it seem like my safety is insignificant to you?" Ron said all of a sudden.  
  
"Nope," Fred replied.  
  
"It's very important to us. That's because you're the one and only Weasley kamikaze!" George agreed while doing the final check.  
  
The statement caused another uproar from Ron but when they managed to finally calm him down, he just closed his eyes and muttered something that sounded oddly like "I'm gonna kill you for this". With a final glance at their now sadistic brother and a mischievous look sent each other's way, the twins activated the machine. It hummed softly for a while, then began singing a few Disney tunes before stopping abruptly.  
  
"Great! It's dead," Ron exclaimed. "Can I go now?"  
  
"Oh no, Ickle Ronniekins," Fred replied. "The fun's just begun."  
  
"What does this thing do anyway?" the younger red head asked.  
  
"It shows you," George began proudly. "What will happen in the future if the case scenario you tell it occurs."  
  
"So you mean you've actually come up with something helpful?" his brother replied with false excitement.  
  
"Shut up" was the twin's unified reply.  
  
Suddenly images began to flick on the empty screen and the helmet began to sing a tune which sounded oddly like "Under the Sea". Flashing Ron a trademark Weasley twin smile, Fred faced the screen and loudly said "If Ron doesn't ask Hermione to the dance." This caused another array of obscenities to spring from Ron, but as he too was curious, this time it only took a few threats of bodily harm to shut him up.  
  
The picture than sprang up one the screen was one that almost made Ron jump from his seat. Neville Longbottom, and Hermione Granger. Dancing at the upcoming Valentines Ball.  
  
A/N: I hope you like it. This started off as a writer's block fixer but it's grown so big it's over 6 chapters! Well, enjoy and review! 


	2. Hermione and Neville, Sitting in a trWHA...

Neville and Hermione, Sitting in a tr-WHAT?!  
  
"Sorry!" Neville apologised as he stepped on Hermione's foot for what seemed like the billionth time.  
  
While Neville's robes had stains all over them, Hermione's was made of a blue satin that hung closely to her body. Many guys could be seen glimpsing her way as the danced.  
  
"It's okay. You'll get the hang of it soon," she reassured.  
  
Neville gave a small smile, "I still can't believe someone as great as you would agree to come to the Valentines Ball with me, Neville I'm-so-stupid Longbottom. Who, may I add, is completely and utterly unlikeable."  
  
"Neville!" Hermione exclaimed. "Don't be like that! You're NOT completely unlikeable. Look, I'll show you."  
  
With that, she led them to the spot where Lavender Brown and Seamus Finnigan were dancing. The two were laughing at a joke Seamus had made and Lavender almost jumped out of her skin when she felt Hermione's hand tap her shoulder.  
  
"Hi! Just doing a little poll," Hermione said. "So, do you think that Neville's unlikeable?"  
  
"Neville Smith? Are you kidding?! He is like the hottest guy in the world! No offence Seamus," Lavender exclaimed.  
  
Hermione shook her head. "No, I meant Longbottom. Do you think Neville LONGBOTTOM's completer unlikeable?"  
  
"Hell yeah!" Lavender yelled before going back to dancing quite intimately with Seamus. If you could even call it dancing.  
  
Exasperated, Hermione went around the Great Hall asking the same question to any 5th or 4th year girl she could find. All had the same answer, even though Ginny put it in much milder terms, saying that she personally thought him unlikeable but she was sure he'd find someone who had a very tough foot. This coming from the most sympathetic girl she knew, Hermione decided to change her question and went on to ask Parvati Patil who would she prefer to date. A Blast Ended Skrewt or Neville Longbottom. After much thought Parvati replied quite definitely that she would probably commit suicide before dating either. Now looking quite tired, Hermione walked the few feet to where Neville was sitting there waiting for her, drink in hand, even though most of it was on his robes.  
  
"See, I told you. It's pointless, Hermione. I'm worthless," he said.  
  
Hermione sighed. "No you're not, Neville. Don't ever think that."  
  
She took a deep breath, and with that closed her eyes and planted a quick kiss on his lips.  
  
"There," she said smiling unsurely. "That was my first kiss, and I reckon there's not much of a worthier recipient anywhere."  
  
~*~TIME MANIPULATOR PROJECTOR~*~  
  
"WHAT?!" Ron screamed from his seat. "THERE IS NO WAY IN BLOODY HELL THAT HERMIONE WOULD BLOODY WELL KISS NEVILLE I-SHOULD-BE-A-BLONDE LONGBOTTOM. IT'S NOT BLOODY POSSIBLE!!!"  
  
Fred was laughing to himself from his spot on a nearby cauldron.  
  
"Is Ickle Ronniekins jealous that he isn't gonna be 'Mione's first kissy- wissy?" he teased.  
  
Ron paled dramatically at the statement. "First kiss!" he exclaimed, totally ignoring the fact that Fred had just called him a green-eyed monster. "First kiss! If Neville is. was, whatever! If Neville's 'Mione's first kiss then all those times I've been teasing her about Vicky. SHIT!"  
  
This only caused more laughter and taunting to come from both the twins, but it went unnoticed as Ron was still muttering incoherent thoughts to himself. Just as he was about to take the helmet off, George slapped his hands away in a manner not unlike the one Mrs. Weasley used to slap his hands when he was trying to steal a newly baked muffin.  
  
"Not yet," he said. "Let's see what happens to Hogwart's weirdest couple in twenty years time."  
  
To this Ron only rolled his eyes and continued muttering something that contained the words "disgusting", "dung bomb", "traitorous git" and "bloody beautiful".  
  
With another smile, one of the twins switched the machine back on. This time it decided to sing "You're so Vain". Fred couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with the memories of Draco Malfoy that had just been recently fed into the machine.  
  
What came on the screen next was a picture of the gang, twenty years older, and Hermione looking rather plump.  
  
~*~TIME MANIPULATOR PROJECTOR~*~  
  
"CONGRATULATIONS!" Ginny screamed as she rushed up to give Hermione a hug. "That's great!" Harry exclaimed. "You just became Mrs. Longbottom and a year later, kabam! You're about to be a mother!" Draco Malfoy agreed.  
  
Neville grinned from ear to ear though Hermione's smile began to fade.  
  
"If only Ron could be here with us.." she sighed before burying her head into Neville's chest.  
  
"Don't cry, 'Mione. It's not like you're the reason he committed suicide," Ginny said softly, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.  
  
Upon seeing that Harry leapt up and began gently massaging the redhead's shoulders while Malfoy just stood there looking at the four people in front of him.  
  
"I'm sorry, guys," Hermione said. "I just wonder sometimes."  
  
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! You can't lose what you never had. BEEEEEEP! I might never get this chance again so damn by foolish pri- BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!  
  
~*~TIME MANIPULATOR PROJECTOR~*~  
  
"THAT IS IT!" Ron yelled as he pulled of the helmet which was still singing the somewhat inspirational song. "I am absolutely sick of your stupid inventions. Neville is NOT going to date, let alone marry and impregnate Hermione. I am NOT going to commit suicide. I have no idea WHAT Malfoy was doing in that picture but what ever it is, that's NOT gonna happen. AND. WHAT THE HELL IS HARRY DOING WITH GINNY?!"  
  
Fred and George couldn't help but laugh at their younger brother's beetroot coloured face. Unfortunately, it caused Ron to turn even redder and storm out of the room with Fred yelling after him.  
  
"And it was all 'cause you didn't ask her to the ball!" 


	3. Not if I can Help It

Not if I can help it  
  
The next morning was Saturday, Ron was sleeping quite pleasantly in the Gryffindor Boy's Dormitory until a loud shriek woke him up.  
  
"You are gonna have to have to control that girlfriend of yours, Finnigan," he said sleepily upon recognising the voice.  
  
"I think you're talking to invisible people again, mate," came Harry's voice. "It's only you, me, and Dean. Seamus went to give Lavender a 'gift' ages ago, and Neville, just well.erm.isn't here"  
  
"Please!" Ron moaned while pulling his pillow over his head. "If I have to hear them going at it one more time, I'm gonna barf. And it ain't gonna be pretty."  
  
Dean's voiced came from underneath his large pile of blankets. "Ron, mate. You're never pretty."  
  
After satisfying himself by throwing a rather heavy pillow at his dreadlocked friend, the tired red head pulled himself up into a sitting position. Looking around at the clock which read 'Too Early' he tried hard to suppress a yawn. He still couldn't help but think about the 'TMP' as his brothers had called it. Surely Hermione wouldn't end up marrying Neville just because he didn't ask her to a stupid ball. Would she? His mother was always saying how the smallest decisions can turn out effecting the biggest parts of your life.  
  
"Have you found a victim yet?" Harry asked. "So far you and Neville are the only people who haven't got dates for the ball. At this rate Neville will have a date before you."  
  
Ron shook his head.  
  
"Well, you better hurry up. Neville's thinking of asking Hermione and knowing her she'll say yes outta pity. You don't wanna lose her again do you?" Harry said.  
  
The three were now fulling awake, sitting on their beds watching the clock as it slowly crawled from "Too Early" to "Early"  
  
"What do you mean?" his friend replied, blushing.  
  
"Remember the 'Vicky Incident'? Voodoo dolls, sleep talking. One Ronald Weasley was a green-eyed monster," Harry elaborated.  
  
"Aha," Dean agreed, smiling. "One with pointy fangs and lime coloured spots."  
  
"Shut up," Ron grumbled before flinging himself back into the pile of pillows at the head of his bed. He wasn't planning to get up until the clock at least read "Lunch". With that in mind, he began to drift back to sleep, thoughts of how he was ever going to ask his bestfriend and apparently not-so-secret crush to the Valentines Ball. It wasn't exactly the type of ball where you could go as 'just friends'. Why did girls have to be such a mystery anyway?  
  
~*~TIME MANIPULATOR PROJECTOR~*~  
  
A highly pleased pair of red headed twins were lounging around the Gryffindor 7th year's commonroom, laughing at the thought of the past night's happenings.  
  
Contrary to their brother's belief, last night hadn't been the first time the 'TMP' had been used and showing the future was definitely something the machine didn't do. Actually all the invention did was feed off photographs and slight background information that was fed into it and created a film of any case scenario its use cared to come up with. The reason it was called a Time Manipulator Projector? Simple. It manipulates time as they can show the scenario at any stage of a person's life, past, future or present and it projects the image onto a blank screen. Even Lee Jordan had to admit it was one of the twin's best inventions to date.  
  
"Remember the look on Ron's face when he saw Hermione kiss Neville?" George said as he was overcome by another fit of laughter.  
  
"Hell yeah!" Fred replied before doing an impersonation of what looked like a mixture of a mother who'd just discovered her only daughter was pregnant and horse with mad cow disease.  
  
Upon seeing this, his twin brother broke out into another fit of laughter, this time laughing a tad bit too hard and falling onto the floor with a rather loud thud.  
  
"You idiot!" Fred managed to get out before he two was overcome by the definitely overworked laughing fairy.  
  
~*~TIME MANIPULATOR PROJECTOR~*~  
  
"Ron, you're gawking like an idiot," Harry said to his bestfriend.  
  
The two were playing chess in their commonroom. At least Harry was, and so was Ron until a particular bookworm made her way into the room. Harry turned around to look at the object of his best friend's affections. Unlike most boys, who wouldn't even look twice at their bushy haired bestfriend, Ron was staring at her like she was the meaning of life itself. He watched his friend as the red head gazed intently at the girl who was now fumbling with a rather large book. This boy had it, and he had it bad.  
  
"I repeat. Ron, you're gawking like an idiot." 


	4. Harold's Secret Love For Gwendolyn

**Harold's secret love for fair Gwendolyn**

"What?" he said, shaking his head.

"You were gawking at Hermione like a jack-in-the-box," his friend replied.

Trying to cover up for his lack of public self-control, the love struck teen quickly studied the chessboard trying to find a mistake in Harry's chess play that could help him cover up the embarrassment. Indeed there was one, shining out at him like a fluorescent flamingo. Harry had left his king uncovered on the left, Ron's somewhat violent bishop could just zero in and Checkmate!

"Ha! Tricked ya! I won!" Ron proclaimed proudly as his bishop continued to hit Harry's king over the head with the blunt of his own sword.

The raven-haired boy only shook his head and stated that it was a rather lame cover up. 

"Just admit it, Ron. You like her. What the heck! You probably LOVE her!" he exclaimed.

They say that blood rushes to the cheeks of those who are blushing. In this case, Ron's blood cells had decided to hold a mini-Olympics complete with steroid using athletes and hypo spectators.

"Um… this sounds cheesy but I'll tell if you do," he answered shakily.

It was now Harry's turn to become magenta. 

"Er… okay. You go first."

The boy had a plan and if it worked he wouldn't be grilled until at least a few weeks.

"Well, erm… I don't know when it started and I was in the middle of it before I realised it had begun but now I'm almost positive that I'minlovewith'Mione."

Harry smiled to himself. 

"Well! Now that you've finally admitted it, you just have to go tell 'Mione. Bye!"  With that he stood up.

Unfortunately for Harry, Ron had a lot of practise being Gryffindor's Keeper and had grabbed hold of his arm before he could say 'Slytherin sucks'.

"You haven't maintained your end of the bargain."

"Maintained?" Harry replied, trying to get off topic. "You're even sounding like 'Mione. Okay, okay. Let go of my arm. It's the same thing just erm… I err…"

By now Ron was becoming quite impatient. "Just spill it out will ya? It's not like you're in love with Moaning Myrtle!"

Harry took a deep breath before saying "I'minlovewithGinny" and then making a wild dash for the stairs.

"YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH MY SISTER?!" Ron yelled.

A roaring wave of silence swept through the room. Harry Potter, THE Boy Who Lived, Heart-throb Harry Potter, in love with shy Ginny Weasley?

Realising the mistake he had made, and seeing the horrified look of his friend's face, Ron made a quick recovery.

"Practising a play, peoples! Do you REALLY think I would CARE if my bestfriend liked my sister?" he said dramatically, shaking his head. "Harry, your line."

Harry gave a massive grin of appreciation before doing a rather theatrical spin up the stairs. 

"Yes, err…. Renaldo," he proclaimed in a baritone. "I, um… Harold Darcy am in love with fair umm…Gwendolyn Bennett. But take heed that I shall confess to my feelings and not keep them from the maiden of my dreams like you have kept yours from, Henrietta. I bid you good night."

A spectacular bow from Harry and an enthusiastic applause later, Ron found himself back in the boys dormitory, not one inch closer to asking Hermione to the ball.

~*~TIME MANIPULATOR PROJECTOR~*~

As far as the wall clock was concerned, it was "Bed Time" but as Ron knew that Hermione would be up studying until "Ungodly Hours of the Night" he decided to creep down to the commonroom. He was going to get this over and done with and if she said no, he could just walk away and say it was a figment of her imagination in the morning. That was the good thing about Hermione's allergy to coffee, she was normally in a stupor by the fifth time she'd reviewed the revisions of her revised History of Magic revision notes. 

Slowly gaining confidence as he walked, Ron crept carefully down the stone staircase, muttering a few obscenities along the way as he crashed into the unlit parts of the winding staircase. As he was about to walk into the commonroom he saw Neville standing next to her looking like he was trying to say something. Harry's words rung in his ear, _you don't wanna lose her again, do you?_  And no, he didn't. 

Quickly making up his mind he shouted down to Hermione. 

"'Mione, can you come here for a sec?"

He saw her looking up at him with a surprised and relieved expression on her face. Muttering a monotonous 'Sorry' to Neville, she quickly ran up the stairs to where he was standing. It was only after having thanked him furiously for 'rescuing her' she finally asked him what he wanted.

It was now his turn to ramble excessively, first talking about the date February 14th, then a pair of navy dress robes. After being told to slow down for the tenth time, he finally spat one of the sentences a Hogwarts attending boy dreaded most.

"Willyougototheballwithme?"


	5. Once Upon a Heated Interrogation

Once upon a heated interrogation.  
  
Hermione stared at him for a while before laughing. "Can you believe that that's exactly what Neville just asked me?" Ron nodded blankly. He had no idea how this conversation was going to end.  
  
"So...um.is that a yes or a no?" he asked hesitantly.  
  
Hermione flashed him a smile. "Of course it's a yes, considering no guy in his right mind would want to go with me, go with me. I mean I'm uglier that a rhino's backside. I might as well go with a friend."  
  
Ron didn't know what to think. Yes! She said yes. No! She thought he was asking her as a friend. With a rather confused expression on his face, Ron muttered an inaudible 'Goodnight' before walking up the stairs.  
  
"Hey wait!" Hermione's voice called after him. "I thought you said you were gonna go stag after Padma."  
  
Ron blushed a deep red as he turned around.  
  
"I had a change of plans and decided to ask the girl who thinks she's uglier than a rhino's butt," he called back.  
  
Hermione laughed again. She quickly picked up her supplies before running up to join the redhead in the stare case.  
  
"And why would that be?' she asked, humouring him.  
  
Before Ron had any idea what was coming out of his mouth, he had answered rather pointedly that it was because she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Upon realizing what he'd said, Ron blushed an ever deeper red and ran up the stairs at a speed that would have guaranteed him a place at the Olympics. It wasn't really that he had no idea what was coming out of his mouth, it was just that he could never seem to control it.  
  
~*~TIME MANIPULATOR PROJECTOR~*~  
  
There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. It was Monday morning, and that meant classes. Strangely enough, Malfoy's snake like attitude and the urge to tell Snape where to shove it was the least of Ron's worries. As he slowly ate his small breakfast, something that was strange in itself, his mind couldn't help but wander to the look on Hermione's face when he had said those horrific words. It was almost as if she was . happy. Shocked, yes. But not 'I'm gonna strangle the imbecile who did this' shocked. Not even 'I'm about to faint' shock. It was more of a 'I'm so happy!' shock. The redhead had only ever seen her like that once, and that was when she made prefect. Of course, he was probably just imagining it. Knowing you, Weasley, he thought to himself, high hopes as always. How long is it gonna take for them to fall into the centre of the Earth this time?  
  
Before he knew it, he was running to the Potions classroom with Harry, late as usual.  
  
"Twenty points from Gryffindor and a detention for the both of you,"  
  
Snape's greasy voice was almost an awakening, if only for a minute. The two looked around for seats only to find that the only spare ones were next to Millicent Bulstrode. Hermione had decided to sit with Lavender and Parvati, a.k.a 'The Ditzy Chicks'.  
  
He didn't talk to Hermione until lunch. It was as if he couldn't even if he wanted to. She was walking to classes with Lavender and Parvarti and when she didn't share their classes she walked with Lisa Turpin, the Ravenclaw prefect. It was unsettling in a way, to see how an itzy bitzy li'l sentence could make such a drastic change in a friendship.  
  
~*~TIME MANIPULATOR PROJECTOR~*~  
  
As each hour passed, it was getting more and more frustrating for Ron until he became so frustrated he literally grabbed Hermione after Transfiguration and pinned her to the wall. Well, he did it extremely gently but that was beside the point.  
  
"Hermione, something is bugging you so spit it out!" he exclaimed. Her face was burning and his started to too, after realizing the rather intimate position they were in. Jumping back a bit, he stuck his hands in his pocket and looked at her questioningly.  
  
She looked rather uncomfortable. "Well, umm.. Better yet. Why don't you explain your comment last night?"  
  
The million galleon question. Ron KNEW she was going to ask this, absolutely knew it. His face slowly began to turn a bright red as he muttered and stuttered and tried to find the right words.  
  
Hermione just shook her head and smiled.  
  
"Using your own words against you," she said. "Spit it out!"  
  
Ron's freckles were now starting to camouflage against his red face, add the hair to that and it cause the overall effect of an extremely large carrot. After much thought, he decided that there was really only one way to go. He just had to file in the disclaimers first.  
  
"There's really only one way of explaining it," he replied uncomfortably. "And that's well, erm. Just promise me you won't blast me into oblivion for this okay?" 


	6. Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem  
  
Hermione looked uncertain for a moment before laughing.  
  
"Well, what's the worst you could do?" she joked. "Sure why not. But I refrain from promising to not threaten or inflict bodily harm."  
  
Ron's eyes grew wide with shock for a moment. He took a deep breath, then looked down at Hermione's nonchalant face. This is it, he told himself. You either make it or break it.  
  
"Okay, close your eyes."  
  
Hermione gave him a questioning look before shrugging and slowly closing them.  
  
Ron took yet another deep breath before snapping his eyes shut and leaning down towards his best friend's lips. He could almost feel her breath on his skin. It was scarier than he ever imagined it be. Trust Dean and Seamus to say it was a piece of cake, kissing a girl. More like a piece of Hagrid's cake.  
  
Hermione's eyes flew open the moment his lips touched hers, but before she knew it, she was kissing him back. Even if it was only a timid first kiss, the two couldn't help but drown in it, the first time their lips had ever met. It was almost as if time and space ceased to exist. As if the two of them were all that mattered in the world. As if.  
  
"Ehem,"  
  
The two jumped apart quicker than you could say 'shame'. Ron's face, which was already red from the kiss, turned a brilliant shade of magenta while Hermione just hid her head in her hands.  
  
"Parvati," she muttered before running down the hall with her book bag on the verge of falling off her shoulder.  
  
Ron turned around to find a smirking Harry.  
  
"I'm not gonna say anything. But you're gonna be late for Charms if you don't hurry up," he said.  
  
Ron could tell that the teenager was trying all her could not to bow over laughing.  
  
"It's not funny," he retorted disgruntledly.  
  
"Of 'course it's not," came his friend's reply.  
  
"It's not!"  
  
The two were silent as they half walked half ran up the moving stairs. Ron by now looked like he had run a marathon and Harry just looked like, well, Harry.  
  
"Ron and 'Mione sitting in a tree," the raven haired boy sung under his breath as the pair began taking the steps two by two. "K-I-Double S-I-N-G. First comes love, second comes marriage. Third comes ten billion red heads in a carriage."  
  
"Immature prick,"  
  
For some strange reason, this caused Harry to burst into laughter.  
  
"You even SOUND like 'Mione. What is the world coming to?"  
  
By now they had reached the Charms classroom. Ron muttered a quick apology to Professor Flitwick and threw another insult Harry's way before looking around for a seat.  
  
Hermione was talking animatedly with Parvati and Lavender, well, more like Lavender and Parvati were talking animatedly at Hermione. She was listening with a lot of interest and Ron couldn't help but wonder if the Ditzy Chicks had managed to convert her into an airhead. And it would've all been his fault.  
  
Snapping out of it, Ron went to sit with Harry who was currently trying to make the Ravenclaw next to him stop crying. They were learning Woeful Charms today.  
  
It was just an average hour-long class, but to Ron it seemed to drone on for years. He just waned to go to the commonroom and think. Two exploding pincushions and seven wailing girls later, he was finally released from the hell in disguise.  
  
It took only five minutes for him to be broken from his reverie. The culprit was none other than Mariana Brocklehurst, the transfer third year who was OBSESSED with his bestfriend. Ron was about to launch into his set speech of "No, I can't give out Harry's address, no, I'm not telling you if he's single or not and NO! I will not tell you whether he wears boxers or briefs!" He had had to use that speech so many times already, especially with Harry 'hansoming up' as Lavender called it. But today was Ron's lucky day. All the brunette did was walk up to him, blush, mutter a small 'hi' and shove a piece of wrinkled parchment in his hand.  
  
Upon opening it, he found Hermione's neat, curved script:  
  
Ron,  
  
Well, erm. just look up 'dilligère' in a Lartin dictionary, okay? And it'll tell you how I feel about you. I don't know how to say it so I hope that explains it. Are you still up for the ball? I'm really looking forward to it.  
  
Bye!  
  
Hermione  
  
P.S Don't be offended because I'm romantically challenged. 


End file.
